WASHINGTON — United States Ambassador Nikki Haley has indicated new economic sanctions will be announced this Monday against Russia for enabling the government of Syrian leader Bashar Assad to continue using chemical weapons.
The ambassador to the United Nations said Russia has blocked six attempts by the UN Security Council to make it easier to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
“Everyone is going to feel it at this point,” Haley said, warning of consequences for Assad’s foreign allies.
“The international community will not allow chemical weapons to come back into our everyday life,” she said in an interview aired Sunday. “The fact he was making this more normal and that Russia was covering this up, all that has got to stop.”
President Donald Trump said on Sunday a US-led missile attack on Syria’s chemical weapons program was “perfectly carried out.”
Trump tweeted “Mission Accomplished” on Saturday after US, French, and British warplanes and ships launched more than 100 missiles nearly unopposed by Syrian air defenses.
While he declared success, the Pentagon said the pummeling of three chemical-related facilities left enough others intact to enable the Assad government to use banned weapons against civilians if it chooses.
His choice of words recalled a similar claim associated with President George W. Bush following the US-led invasion of Iraq.